Councillors were recently urged to support spending £1.5 million to roll out a state-of-the-art wireless communications network across Aberdeen. Members of the Aberdeen City Council’s Economic Development sub-committee considered the recommendation at the end of last month (January 2006).

In her report to the committee, City Council Head of Economic Development Rita Stephen asked members to approve the business case for funding to have the project in place by March 2007. Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) works through a series of small, low-cost, low-watt wireless devices which together form a network connected through radio transmission. These devices allow communication with laptop computers, tablet PCs, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other similar equipment.

Earlier funding from the City Growth Fund was approved for several Connected Aberdeen Wi-Fi pilots, including at Oldmachar and Kingswells Academies and at last summer’s 'Free at the Dee' pop concert where the technology was harnessed for CCTV coverage.

Mrs Stephen said: “The Connected Aberdeen programme has at its heart an aim to enable citizens and visitors to access the information required to support and enhance their experiences of the city. “The Connected Aberdeen (Wi-Fi Infrastructure) programme has had low-level seed funding from the City Growth Fund over the years 2004-2006. Early pilot work has proven the efficiency of the system and its potential as a transformative technology. In order to maintain, develop and deliver wider benefits from Wi-Fi technologies, the project team is seeking capital funding for the year 2006-2007.”

Implementation of the city-wide project would come in three phases — Central Aberdeen, then North Aberdeen and finally South Aberdeen. The project’s overall aims are to:

· Spur economic development
· Enhance community neighbourhoods
· Help overcome the digital divide
· Reduce the cost of government

Mrs Stephen said “For example, social workers and building control inspectors could use portable devices to record information about clients or buildings and then either record or send an email at no cost.”

Other applications include:

· Traffic light control, with the use of video and data traffic
· Visitor and educational support, for example by upgrading the Victorian, Coastal and City Trails and Wi-Fi-enabling six schools
· Offering free access to the City Council’s website
· Offering internet access through Wi-Fi “hotspots” and low-cost or free broadband connections to those who are socially disadvantaged, for example by allowing the Station House Media Unit to extend its services with Wi-Fi-enabled equipment
· Enhancing community safety through CCTV

Mrs Stephen said: “Assuming there is full coverage in Aberdeen City, it would allow community safety organisations to place CCTV equipment in locations that would normally be difficult or costly to provide with data access. Grampian Police are working with the Council on a pilot to look at more flexible ways to deploy CCTV in and around the city using Wi-Fi technology.”

She added: “For the future, some mobile phone operators are providing phones that will switch automatically between mobile and Wi-Fi networks, thereby providing mobile phone and data access at either free or reduced costs.”

Mr Charles Litster, Senior Information Technology Consultant with MIS Ecosse Ltd, is Managing this large Project and confirmed this is one of the most exciting projects he has had the priviledge of being involved in.